Dolly Parton is doing her bit to help children stuck indoors by reading a range of bedtime stories online.

The country music sensation has launched a 10-week series of bedtime videos will come as an addition to the work of her Imagination Library, a non-for-profit organisation which supplies free books to children all over the world from their birth until their first day at school.

How to watch the videos

The videos will feature books included in the Imagination Library’s scheme, and will also be available globally on the Imagination Library’s YouTube channel from April 2, 2020 at around midnight UK time, where they will be live-streamed.

However, the videos shall remain on the channel after the streaming ends for those who cannot view them live.

Which books will be read?

The first video in the series will see the award-winning singer read The Little Engine That Could.

This is the first book given to newly registered children in the United States and Canada, as part of the Imagination Library initiative, and has been "a source of inspiration" for the award-winning singer throughout her life, according to the charity’s online statement.

Other titles to be included in the series are Max & The Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper, There's A Hole In The Log On The Bottom Of The Lake by Loren Long, and Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton herself.

‘A welcomed distraction during a time of unrest’

In a statement made about the initiative, called Bedtime With Dolly, Parton said: “This is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while, but the timing never felt quite right.I think it is pretty clear that now is the time to share a story and to share some love.

“It is an honour for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators. They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think."

A statement on the charity’s website said the aim of the launch is to “provide a welcomed distraction during a time of unrest and also inspire a love of reading and books in the hearts of the children who see them”.

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